2011 Version of unions pdf in its entirety

EDITOR W. Bradford Wilcox

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Elizabeth Marquardt

FOUNDING CO-EDITORS David Popenoe & Barbara Dafoe Whitehead

ARTICLES

W. Bradford Wilcox & Elizabeth Marquardt

Using data from three nationally representative surveys, When Baby Makes Three responds to three important questions: Is it emotionally easier to parent alone in a world in which a good marriage seems increasingly out of reach? Is parenthood itself an obstacle to a good marriage? What are the social, cultural, and relational sources of marital success among today's parents?

W. Bradford Wilcox & Elizabeth Marquardt

Becoming a parent is one of the top priorities for today’s young adultsfar outpacing money, professional success, religious faith, and even a good marriage. So, for today’s women and men of childbearing age, what happens when a baby comes along?

W. Bradford Wilcox & Elizabeth Marquardt

Given the negative association between marital happiness and parenthood, one might expect that the least happy husbands and wives would be parents of large families. Not so. In a striking finding, it turns out that the relationship between family size and marital happiness is curvilinear. In other words, according to the Survey of Marital Generosity, the happiest husbands and wives among today’s young couples are those with no children and those with four or more children.

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PRESS RELEASE

The 2011 State of Our Unions explores the links between marriage, parenthood, meaning in life, and happiness; it also identifies ten factors that are associated with high levels of marital happiness among married parents.